A GNA Feature by Boakye-Dankwa Boadi
Accra, Jan. 13, GNA - At cock crow at dawn on Friday January 13 2006 an unusual noise was heard in the neighbourhood of Switchback Road at Cantonments in Accra.
It was the baritone voice of a man shouting: "For how long would you remain in the wilderness as orphans? Come back home. Your father is back to complete the uncompleted task he set himself in the late 1940s." A number of residents woke up to take a glimpse of the person talking but all that some could see was the silhouette of a man running into the darkness.
For a moment some of the residents were wondering whether it was a man or a ghost. If it were a man then that person could only be a Ben Johnson, who ran the 100 metres in 9.7 seconds, otherwise it would be more reasonable to assume that it was a ghost considering the speed at which he moved into the darkness.
A number of questions arise. Who was the father who set himself a task in the late 1940s but could not complete it? Taking into consideration the date of the episode - January 13 - one could easily conclude that it no one else other than Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah.
Those old enough remember the dawn of January 13 1972 when the then Colonel I. K. Acheampong overthrew the Progress Party Government led by Professor Kofi Abrefa Busia.
Indeed the "few amenities coup" was seen as the return of the Convention People's Party since Colonel Achemapong was known to be a product of the Kwame Nkrumah Ideological Institute at Winneba and the reason he gave for his action - "the few amenities that we were enjoying under Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah have been taken away from us".
If it was Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, who said he had returned, then it is time for all Young Pioneers to pick up the pieces and come together to form a formidable force to take back their true inheritance. Young Pioneers should be reminded of their Code:
"Love of Country; Discipline and Obedience; Honesty and Morality; Punctuality; Protection of State Property; Reliability and Secrecy; Comradeship and Forbearance; Love of Work; Field craft, Un-affectedness, Self-Control and Striving for Faultlessness."
It is probably getting too late since that great generation is quickly moving away from the age of effective activity into the last stages of life. It has a mission to accomplish and this it must accomplish or forever be damned.
That generation should not forget their pledge: "I sincerely promise to live by the ideals of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Founder of the State of Ghana and Initiator of African Personality. "(I promise) to safeguard by all means possible the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the State of Ghana from internal and external aggression.
"To be always in the vanguard for the social reconstruction of Ghana and Africa.
"To be in the first ranks of men fighting for the total liberation and unity of Africa.
" For these are the noble aims guiding the Ghana Young Pioneers. "As a Young Pioneer, I will be guard of workers, farmers, co-operators and all sections of our community.
"I believe that the dynamic Convention People's Party is always supreme and I promise to be worthy of its ideals."
Indeed if the Young Pioneer generation had lived up to their code and pledge this beloved country of ours would not have been plagued with the excruciating corruption that is felt and smelt all around. Accra, Kumasi and Sekondi-Takoradi would not be reeling in filth. The majority of the people would not have been living in poverty and squalor.
The Young Pioneer generation must wake up and fulfil its destiny. It has a task to accomplish and the time is now or never.
